NFL Betting: Broncos face Seahawks in Super Bowl

The subtitle to Super Bowl 48 was inevitable: the Irresistible Force vs. the Immovable Object. The Denver Broncos vs. the Seattle Seahawks pits the NFL's No. 1 offense against the NFL's No. 1 defense, and for the 10th time since 1975 the No. 1 seeds from each conference will meet in the Super Bowl betting matchup.

Oddsmakers made the Seattle Seahawks a slim 1-point favorite for the title game at MetLife Stadium at most places moments after they defeated last season's NFC champion San Francisco by a score of 23-17 in this year's NFC Championship Game. But within 30 minutes, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos received most of the wagering support, and the line shifted to Denver -1 before they settled in as a 2-point betting favorite. The total is listed at 47.5 points.

Now with the Broncos pegged as a betting favorite in this game, the Super Bowl will mark the 30th straight game Denver has been favored on the NFL betting lines at the sportsbooks. The Broncos are on winning runs of 25-4 SU and 20-9 ATS leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII.

After overcoming Sunday's 10-0 deficit versus San Francisco, the Seahawks have now won all three of their previous games this season in which they trailed by 10 or more points. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is now a stellar 27-9 as a starter, tying Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger for the most wins by a quarterback over his first two seasons during the Super Bowl era.

Super Bowl 48 will mark the 16th time that the defense that allowed the fewest points in the league advanced to the title game since the AFL and NFL merged. Of the previous 15 teams, 12 of them won championships.

This will also mark the fifth time since the merger that the league’s No. 1 ranked scoring offense faces the league's No. 1 ranked scoring defense in the Super Bowl, and it's been the top defensive team winning three of the last four meetings.

The Seahawks were in the AFC West division from 1977 through 2001, and were rivals with the Broncos until moving to the NFC West division in 2002.

League officials have been scrutinized for their decision to award the Super Bowl to an east coast, cold weather stadium. The average high temperature for New York on February 2 is 37 degrees, and the average low is 22 degrees.